Spring suspension for auto vehicles



May 4, 1937. w. H. COLLIER 2,079,314

SPRING SUSPENSION FOR AUTO -VEHICLES Filed April 14, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR:

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A ORNEY w. H. COLLIER SPRING SUSPENSION FOR AUTO VEHICLES Filed April 14, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet'Z WZZZZdmCZZZzIk Patented May 4, 1937 UNITED STS PATENT OFFICE SPRING SUSPENSION FOR AUTO VEHICLES William H. Collier, Jackson, Tenn.

Application April 14, 1936, Serial No. 74,352

8 Claims. (01. 26719) This invention relates to spring suspensions and first adverting to Figure 1, the numeral l particularly designed for auto vehicles both of represents a frame member of an auto vehicle the longitudinal and transversely sprung type. suspended by the leaf spring 2 supported on the The invention has for its general object the axle 3 or other wheel support. The spring 2 is 5 provision of means in combination with the usual indirectly connected in customary manner to the leaf spring and the customary spring shackle, for end of the frame member I by the conventional modifying the freedom of movement of the shackle 6, including a control link 4, said shackle spring in such a manner as toinhibit braking and link being pivoted together at l to form torque and axle chatter, that it functions as a a toggle, the shackle 6 being pivoted to the spring shock absorber, that it stabilizes the automobile at the point 8 while the control link is pivoted 10 and in effect lengthens the spring varying its to the frame member I at the point 5. rate of amplitude, and promoting easy riding, A thrust member 9 is provided which may be that it banks the body of the car at curves, preeither a f spring element r a rigid In vents side sway, and in all respects improves the Figure 1 it is a resilient element, one end of riding qualities of the car, which is secured under the U-bolt I i which binds 15 Most specifically stated, the object of the ine leaf Sp g 2 together and t0 the aide The vention is to provide in combination with a leaf Outer end o the thrust member 9 is pivoted to spring and a shackle, a thrust member which an intermediate point of the control link G at may be a rigid radius rod or a leaf spring capathe point t might b pivoted at y Other ble of transmitting an endwise thrust, either piv- Point Of the Shackle, in fact, it might be pivoted otally mounted or otherwise anchored adjacent to the Portion making that the Control linkthe spring support, and thrusting a i t th The thrust member 9 is so positioned as to inspring shackle to deflect the latter in one directerfere with or modify the sw of the Shackle tion or the other, thereby to cause a correlative under h r and fall and consequent v operation of the several elements involved, entiOIl in length of the leaf Spring 2 incident to its 5 abling them to perform the beneficient functions fieXiOIlS- aforementioned. During the normal riding position of the Other objects of the invention will appear as p the relationship of e ol membe the following description of a preferred and 9 t0 the Spring and Shackles is Such t at t e practical embodiment thereof proceeds. Sp Supporting Shackle member S moved in 30 In the drawings which constitute a part of this the direction of the Spring movement d h n specification and throughout the several figures does not resist the movements of the p of which, the same characters of reference have When the Spring is deflected uDWa d a d the been employed to designate identical parts: pivot point 1 Would ove outwa d to the dotted Figure 1 is a side view of the rear portion of line position S W in Figure the f eedom 80 35 a side frame member of an automobile includto move is inhibited y the ust e be 9 ing a portion of the rear spring and th d i e which holds the control link 4 in a downward of my invention, the ame being i th form position, thus decreasing the angle of deflection of a resilient thrust member; of the spring. Conversely, when the deflection Figure 2 is a similar View in which the thrust of the leaf Spring iS downward and the pivotal 40 member takes the form of a radius rod; point 7 would move downward, the thrust mem- Figure 3 is a front view, part being broken her 9 holds the control link outward and thus away of an auto vehicle having a transverse minimizes t downward deflection 0f the p spring illustrating the embodiment of my inventhus v ng a modified rate f mpli e f v tion; bration to the spring. This has the effect of 45 Figures 4 and 5 are analogous views showing stabilizing the car for when one side of the car the rear spring of an auto vehicle ith th receives an impactive blow or drops quickly, the shackle urged in opposite directions; vehicle on that side is caused to move, lifting Figure 6 is a side view illustrating a form of or lowering the supported end of the spring in my invention in which the thrust member is the same direction as the axle, thereby decreas- 50 underslung; and ing shocks transmitted to the body and thus Figure '7 is a front elevation of a transversely stabilizing the auto Vehicle.

arranged spring illustrating the banking of the Referring now to Figure 2, the numeral l5 repbody under the operation of my invention. resents a radius rod pivotally mounted at the Referring now in detail to the several figures, point l6 adjacent the axle 3. The opposite end 55 of the radius rod is connected to the control link 4 as at H] in the same manner as is illustrated in Figure l. The action of this radius. rod is precisely the same insofar as its modification of the vehicle movement is concerned, the only difference being that in view of its rigidity it is essential to anchor it pivotally rather than rigidly as in Figure 1. Furthermore, a spring thrust member may be considered as auxiliary to and as assisting the resilient action of the spring which of course cannot be said of the radius rod l5.

Figures 4, 5 and 6 show an adaptation of the invention in which the reaction of the spring movements upon the axle play an important part. In Figure 4, the spring 2 isunderslung -with-re lation to the axle 3 while the thrust member 9 is mounted above the axle. In addition to the advantages ascribed to the invention in connection with Figures 1 and 2, the arrangement shown in Figures 4 and 5 prevents braking torque or axle chatter. Braking torque would in general be applicable to both front and rear axles'while axle chatter would be confined to the rear axle unless the automobile is of the type operating by means of a front wheel drive. Braking torque is the thrust of the thrust member 9.

tendency of the axle to rotate in absorbing the rotary movement of the wheels when the brake is applied.

Assuming that the axle 3 in Figure 4 is the rear axle, the braking torque will tend to cause the axle housing to cantor rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow, that is to say, in a clockwise direction as viewed in the figure. The braking. torque will cause the rear spring to thrust backwards, swinging the shackle 6 so as to throw the pivotal point I upward. This would of necessity swing the control link 4 upward about 'the pivotal point 5. However; since the control link 4 is tied to the upper side of the axle by means of the thrust member 9,-the upward stress of the control link 4 will put the thrust member 9 under tension, rotating the axle in the contrary direction to that indicated by the arrow and thus nullifying the tendency of the axle to rotate at all.

The distinctive difference between Figures4 and 5 is the direction in which the toggle formed by the shackle 6 and link 4 folds under the infiuence'of the deflection of the spring 2 and the If the relative positions of the shackles and control link as shown in Fig. 4 will be the normal positions of these members for the vehicle, then under slight deflections of the spring caused by small road shocks, the thrust member 9 raises or lowers the end of the spring always on the same side of the vertical direction, absorbing the light shocks and giving a shock absorber action. This is explained by the fact that the point 1 moves outwardly, thus in effect lengthening the spring as far as is indicated by the vertical line :r-y. A longer spring is more flexible than one of shorter length and therefore is more capable of absorbing light shocks. If a strong shock is encountered however causing such bowing of the spring as results in the toggle reversing itself to the position shown in Figure 5, the spring length in effect is shortened to the point indicated by the vertical broken line a7--y', making the spring action stiffer and adapting it to resist the more powerful shocks.

Axle chatter is the oscillatory vibration of the axle or axle housing which is frequently encountered when the auto vehicle is put through a heavy load as when travelling through snow or deep sand and is caused by the drive pinion riding up on the ring gear. The phenomenon is very much the same as braking torque and the device of the present invention inhibits axle chatter in precisely the same manner as it prevents braking torque, it being essential that the thrust member be mounted on the opposite side of the axle as illustrated in Figures 4 and 5.

Figure 6 illustrates an embodiment of my invention which is shown as being applied to the front axle I 1, although it may be as well applied to the rear axle. In this embodiment of the invention, the leaf spring 2 is mounted on top of the axle while the thrust member 9 is mounted below. The mode of operation is similar to that of the forms already described. In Figure 3, the number l8 represents the front'fra-memember of an automobile which is supported relative to the front axle H by means of the transverse leaf spring I2 suspended from the spring perch l4 by a shackle 6 and control link 4. The reference character 9 represents the thrust member which is tied to the spring l2 by means such as the U-bolts l 3.

The transverse arrangement of the deviceof the present invention gives rise to another advantageous function, inasmuch as the weight of the body and frame places the thrust members body of the car-forces the thrust member 9 on the left hand side toward the left, raising the control link 4 and the shackle 6 thus drawing up the left hand end of the spring l2. The effeet on the opposite side of the car is just the reverse, the thrust member 9 pulling in. on the control link 4, depressing the shackle 6 and lowering the adjacent end of the spring l2, thus banking the car.

It will be understood from the above that I have invented a novel and practical spring suspension which is capable of producing many advantageous results under various conditions of installation and it is to, be understood therefore that my invention is not confined to the details of construction or the arrangement of parts as disclosed in the foregoing specification and which are merely exemplary of many other equivalent arrangements and uses and that the scope of my invention'is. broad and to be. ascertained by a fair and liberal construction of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. Spring suspension for auto vehicles, comprising a leaf spring, a spring supporting member, a shackle support, shackle members pivoted to said shackle support and to one end of said leaf spring respectively, said shackles being inclined at an angle to each other in normal riding position, and an oscillatable substantially rigid control member secured to said spring supporting member and having an outer end pivoted to one shackle member, the relationship of said control member to said spring and shackles being such that said outer end of the control member freely follows the oscillating movement of the shackles for the normal riding movements of the spring, said control member resisting movement of said shackles and opposing movement of the spring incident to the movement of the spring above and below its normal riding position.

2. Spring suspension for auto vehicles, comprising a leaf spring, a spring supporting member, a shackle support, shackle members pivoted to said shackle support and to one end of said leaf spring respectively, said shackles being inclined at an angle to each other in normal riding position, and an oscillatable control member secured to said spring supporting member and having an outer end pivoted to one shackle member, the relationship of said control member to said spring and shackles being such that said outer end of the control member freely follows the oscillating movement of the shackles for the normal riding movements of the spring, said control member resisting movement of said shackles and opposing movement of the spring at an increasing ratio above and below the normal riding position.

3. Spring suspension for auto vehicles, comprising a leaf spring, a spring supporting member, a shackle support, shackle members pivoted to said shackle support and to one end of said leaf spring respectively, and an oscillatable control member secured to said spring supporting member and having an outer end pivoted to one shackle member, the relationship of said control member to said spring and shackles being such that the spring supporting shackle member is moved in the direction of the spring movement for the normal riding movements of the spring, said control member resisting movement of said shackles and opposing movement of the spring at an increasing ratio above and below the normal riding position.

4. Spring suspension for auto vehicles, comprising a spring supporting member, a leaf spring centrally secured thereto, the portion of the spring on one side of its central support being secured to a rigid support at its outer end, a shackle support, shackle members pivoted to said shackle support and to the outer end of the portion of said spring on the opposite side of said central support, said shackles being inclined at an angle to each other in normal riding position, and oscillatable control member secured to said spring supporting member and having its outer end pivoted to one shackle member, the relationship of said control member to said spring and shackles being such that said control member resists movement of the shackles and opposes movement of the spring incident to the movement of the spring above and below its normal riding position, said first mentioned spring portion and said control member being in tension in opposing directions, thereby resisting any rotation of the axle of the vehicle.

5. Spring suspension for auto vehicles, comprising a leaf spring, a spring supporting member, shackle supports, pairs of shackle members pivoted to said shackle supports and to the opposite ends of said leaf spring respectively, said shackles being inclined at an angle to each other in normal riding position, and an oscillatable substantially rigid control member secured to said spring supporting member and having its opposite ends pivoted to one shackle member of each pair, the relationship of said control member to said spring and shackles being such that said opposite ends of the control member freely follow the oscillating movement of the shackles for the normal riding movements of the spring, said control member resisting movement of said shackles and opposing movement of the spring incident to the movements of the spring above and below its normal riding position and thereby resisting the tendency to lateral sway during sudden turning movements of the vehicle.

6. Spring suspension for auto Vehicles, comprising a leaf spring, a spring supporting member, shackle supports, pairs of shackle members pivoted to said shackle supports and to the opposite ends of said leaf spring respectively, and an oscillatable control member secured to said spring supporting member and having its opposite ends pivoted to one shackle member of each pair, the relationship of said control member to said spring and shackles being such that the spring support ing shackle member of each pair is moved in the direction of the spring movement for the normal riding movements of the spring, said control member resisting movement of the shackles and opposing movement of the spring incident to the movement of the spring at an increasing ratio above and below the normal riding position.

'7. Spring suspension for auto vehicles, comprising a leaf spring, a spring supporting member, shackle supports, pairs of shackle members pivoted to said shackle supports and to the opposite ends of said leaf spring respectively, said shackles being inclined at an angle to each other in normal riding position, and an oscillatable control member secured to said spring support ing member and having its opposite ends pivoted to one shackle member of each pair, the relationship of said control member to said spring and shackles being such that said opposite ends of the control member freely follow the oscillating movement of the shackles for the normal riding movements of the spring, said control member resisting movement of said shackles and opposing movement of the spring incident to the movement of the spring at an increasing ratio above and below the normal riding position.

8. Spring suspension for auto vehicles, comprising a leaf spring, a spring supporting member, shackle supports, pairs of shackle members pivoted to said shackle supports and to the opposite ends of said leaf spring respectively, and an oscillatable control member secured to said spring supporting member and having its opposite ends pivoted to one shackle member of each pair, the relationship of said control member to said spring and shackles being such that the spring supporting shackle member of each pair is moved in the direction of the movement of the spring supporting member for the normal riding movements of the spring, said control member resisting movement of the shackles and opposing movement of the spring incident to the movement of the spring above and below the normal riding position and moving the spring supporting shackle members in the opposite direction to the movement of the spring supporting member at the extreme movement thereof.

WILLIAM H. COLLIER. 

